Contention media access control for telecommunications

ABSTRACT

A system includes an access point and one or more remotes. The access point is configured for receiving signals, and for transmitting signals comprising contention frames, contention grants, and data frames. The one or more remotes include a first remote configured for receiving signals, and configured for transmitting signals comprising contention requests and data frames. The first remote is configured for transmitting one of the contention requests within a selected period of time after receiving one of the contention frames from the access point. The access point is configured for transmitting one of the contention grants to the first remote after receiving one of the contention requests from the first remote. The first remote is configured for transmitting one of the data frames within a selected period of time after receiving one of the contention grants from the access point.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/104,603, filed on May 10, 2011, and entitled “Contention Media AccessControl For Telecommunications,” the entire contents of which are herebyincorporated by reference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The subject matter disclosed herein relates to media access control forwireless telecommunications.

Media access control systems are typically used for communicationssystems, such as in industrial wireless communication systems usingindustrial licensed narrowband radio frequencies. Different media accesstechniques govern how different radio transceivers time their signalswith each other, to ensure that all intended signals are transmittedwhile avoiding interference or collision between competing signals,excessive delay of signal transmissions, and other communicationbreakdowns.

At any given time if more than one radio transmits within range ofanother radio on the same frequency, the transmissions may collide andit is possible for data to become corrupted. Such collisions require theinformation to be re-transmitted. Additionally, since radio frequency(RF) channels are lossy, there is no guarantee that a channel willsuccessfully deliver information. Random fading, interference, and noiseare contributing factors to this.

The discussion above is merely provided for general backgroundinformation and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining thescope of the claimed subject matter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Systems, methods, and devices are disclosed for contention media accesscontrol, in accordance with a variety of illustrative embodiments. Anadvantage that may be realized in the practice of some disclosedembodiments is to intelligently control media access with a smallbandwidth footprint while providing channel access and reliability.

In one illustrative embodiment, a system is disclosed. The systemincludes an access point and one or more remotes. The access point isconfigured for receiving signals, and for transmitting signalscomprising contention frames, contention grants, and data frames. Theone or more remotes include a first remote configured for receivingsignals, and configured for transmitting signals comprising contentionrequests and data frames. The first remote is configured fortransmitting one of the contention requests within a selected period oftime after receiving one of the contention frames from the access point.The access point is configured for transmitting one of the contentiongrants to the first remote after receiving one of the contentionrequests from the first remote. The first remote is configured fortransmitting one of the data frames within a selected period of timeafter receiving one of the contention grants from the access point.

In another illustrative embodiment, a method is disclosed. The methodincludes the steps of: providing an access point configured forreceiving and transmitting signals; providing a plurality of remotesconfigured for receiving and transmitting signals, the pluralitycomprising a first remote and a second remote; transmitting a series ofcontention frames from the access point, defining contention periodsbetween the contention frames; transmitting a contention request fromthe first remote during one of the contention periods; transmitting acontention request from the second remote during one of the contentionperiods; if the access point receives one contention request during oneof the contention periods, then transmitting a contention grant from theaccess point to one of the remotes having an address indicated in theone received contention request; if the access point receives more thanone contention request during one of the contention periods, thencausing the access point to select one of the remotes having an addressindicated in one of the received contention requests, and transmitting acontention grant from the access point to the selected remote; if one ofthe remotes receives a contention grant, then transmitting a data framefrom that remote in a contention period subsequent to the contentiongrant; and if one of the remotes does not receive a contention grant ina contention period subsequent to transmitting a contention request,then causing that one of the remotes to implement a delay prior tosending a new contention request, then transmitting a new contentionrequest from that one of the remotes after passage of the delay.

In another illustrative embodiment, a device is disclosed. The devicecomprises a receiver, a transmitter, a data input, and a controller. Thecontroller is in communicative link with the receiver, the transmitter,and the data input. The device is configured to receive data via thedata input and contention frames via the receiver. The device isconfigured to transmit a contention request via the transmitter during acontention period subsequent to one of the contention frames, when thedevice is ready to transmit a data frame comprising the data receivedvia the data input. The device is configured to respond to receipt of acontention grant via the receiver by transmitting the data frame via thetransmitter. The device is configured to respond to a lack of receivinga contention grant via the receiver during a contention period followingtransmitting the contention request, by implementing a delay prior tomaking a subsequent transmission of a contention request via thetransmitter.

This brief description of the invention is intended only to provide abrief overview of subject matter disclosed herein according to one ormore illustrative embodiments, and does not serve as a guide tointerpreting the claims or to define or limit the scope of theinvention, which is defined only by the appended claims. This briefdescription is provided to introduce an illustrative selection ofconcepts in a simplified form that are further described below in thedetailed description. This brief description is not intended to identifykey features or essential features of the claimed subject matter, nor isit intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimedsubject matter. The claimed subject matter is not limited toimplementations that solve any or all disadvantages noted in thebackground.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

So that the manner in which the features of the invention can beunderstood, a detailed description of the invention may be had byreference to certain embodiments, some of which are illustrated in theaccompanying drawings. It is to be noted, however, that the drawingsillustrate only certain embodiments of this invention and are thereforenot to be considered limiting of its scope, for the scope of theinvention encompasses other equally effective embodiments. The drawingsare not necessarily to scale, emphasis generally being placed uponillustrating the features of certain embodiments of invention. In thedrawings, like numerals are used to indicate like parts throughout thevarious views. Thus, for further understanding of the invention,reference can be made to the following detailed description, read inconnection with the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 depicts a signal timing diagram for an access point and multipleremotes, with an exploded section of the diagram for detail, inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 2 depicts a schematic diagram of an access point and multipleremotes, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 3 depicts a diagram of an access point and multiple remotes, inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 4 depicts a graph comparing the number of slots required forsending all remote frames with the number of simultaneously transmittingremotes in different scenarios, in accordance with an illustrativeembodiment;

FIG. 5 depicts a schematic diagram of an illustrative sequence of statesfor a remote, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 6 depicts a schematic diagram of an illustrative sequence of statesfor an access point, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 7 depicts a schematic diagram of an illustrative sequence of statesfor both an access point and a remote, in accordance with anillustrative embodiment;

FIG. 8 depicts a schematic diagram of an illustrative sequence of statesfor a remote, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment;

FIG. 9 depicts a schematic diagram of an illustrative sequence of statesfor both an access point and a remote, in accordance with anillustrative embodiment; and

FIG. 10 depicts a schematic diagram of an illustrative sequence ofstates for both an access point and a remote, in accordance with anillustrative embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

FIG. 1 depicts signal timing diagram 100 involved in an illustrativeContention Media Access Control (CMAC) system between an access pointand multiple remotes, in accordance with an illustrative embodiment. ACMAC system may involve a contention-based media access controltechnique that is well-suited for low bandwidth half duplex licensedwireless radio networks, for example. FIG. 2 depicts a schematic diagramof a wireless communication system 200 that provides an illustrativecontext for the signals represented in signal timing diagram 100 of FIG.1, showing RF coverage and network topology in a simplified example.FIG. 3 depicts a simplified diagram of a wireless communication system300 that provides another illustrative context, with some additionalillustrative detail, for the signals represented in signal timingdiagram 100 of FIG. 1. Details of the illustrative wirelesscommunication system 200 of FIG. 2 and of the illustrative wirelesscommunication system 300 of FIG. 3 are useful for providing the contextfor the details of the illustrative CMAC system illustrated in FIG. 1.

A CMAC system involves a contention oriented media access technique thatmay be particularly advantageous for low bandwidth, half duplex,licensed wireless radio networks, in some illustrative embodiments. Lowbandwidth wireless networks have particular problems that traditionalmedia access techniques do not solve well. A CMAC system may providechannel access and reliable communications within a low bandwidthwireless network, in some illustrative embodiments. In some illustrativeembodiments, a CMAC system may be particularly suitable for serial andIP networks in licensed low bandwidth frequencies such as 200 MHz, 400MHz, 900 MHz, and 6.25 KHz-50 KHz channels, for example. Variousembodiments of CMAC systems as disclosed herein may also beadvantageously applied in high bandwidth channels or channels of anybandwidth and in either wired, wireless, or mixed settings.

The terms “CMAC” or “CMAC system” may refer to any aspect of any of avariety of systems, methods, and devices described and depicted in thisdisclosure in accordance with a wide variety of embodiments. A CMACsystem may involve communication among radio devices that include anaccess point and one or more remotes. An access point may also bereferred to as a “master station access point” or a “master accesspoint”, and a remote may also be referred to as a “wireless remote”. Anaccess point and one or more remotes may collectively be referred to as“radios”.

One illustrative objective of a CMAC system is ensuring channel accessfor the radios involved, including both an access point and one or moreremotes. An RF channel is a broadcast medium. At any given time if morethan one radio transmits within range of another radio on the samefrequency, the transmissions will collide and it is possible for data tobecome corrupted. A CMAC system coordinates when radios can attempt toacquire a channel in order to avoid collisions. Licensed radio networksmay typically employ either a single frequency for both transmitting andreceiving, or a switch carrier plan with one unique frequency fortransmitting and a second unique frequency for receiving. This provideslimitations on the type of media access technique that may be usefulwith the communication system. Additionally, the radios may be halfduplex, which does not support simultaneous transmit and receiveoperations, and which provides a lower cost.

As depicted in FIG. 2, wireless communication system 200 may include anaccess point 201 associated with a master station, and multiple remotes211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, and 218, in accordance with anillustrative embodiment. Wireless communication system 200 provides oneillustrative context of usage, in which access point 201 has acommunicative range that extends to coverage edge 202. Each of theremotes 211, 212, 213, 214, 215, 216, 217, and 218 are contained withinthe RF coverage area of access point 201 within the interior of coverageedge 202, in this illustrative embodiment. Each of the remotes 211, 212,213, etc. has a direct line of sight connection with access point 201,in this illustrative embodiment.

Wireless communication system 200 has a centralized network topology, inwhich there is a single access point and any number of remotes. Accesspoint 201 can communicate to each of the remotes 211 through 218 andvice versa. However, the remotes 211 through 218 cannot communicate witheach other, in this illustrative embodiment. Access point 201 may be thegateway to a local network and to outside networks, and the remotes 211,212, 213, etc. may typically be connected to end devices, examples ofwhich are shown in the illustrative embodiment of FIG. 3. Each of theradios within the single RF network bounded by coverage edge 202, i.e.the access point 201 and each of the remotes 211 through 218, may have aunique identifying address.

While eight representative remotes, including remotes 211 through 218,are depicted as part of wireless communication system 200 in FIG. 2,other wireless communication systems may include one, ten, fifty, threehundred, or any number of remotes in communication with a single accesspoint, for example. Additionally, while only one access point isdepicted in the wireless communication system 200 of FIG. 2, otherwireless communication systems may include any number of access points,for example.

As depicted in FIG. 3, wireless communication system 300 includes anaccess point 301 and multiple remotes 311, 312, 313, in accordance withanother illustrative embodiment. Wireless communication system 300provides an illustrative context of usage, in which access point 301 hasa communicative link with a master station 321 which in turn has acommunicative link with a data control center 323. In this illustrativeembodiment, the remotes 311, 312, 313 illustratively connect to oil orgas wells and associated processing, transporting, and storinginfrastructure. Remote 311 has a communicative link with fluid transportpipes 331; remote 312 has a communicative link with fluid tanks 332; andremote 313 has a communicative link with processing plant 333. Whilethree representative remotes are depicted as part of wirelesscommunication system 300 in FIG. 3, other wireless communication systemsmay include one, ten, fifty, three hundred, or any number of remotes incommunication with a single access point, for example. The number ofremotes in the communication system is only limited by the availablebandwidth of the access point. Additionally, while only one access pointis depicted in the wireless communication system 300 of FIG. 3, otherwireless communication systems may include multiple access points, forexample. While this illustrative example involves remotes that relaydata from oil and gas infrastructure, this is merely one example fromamong a wide range of contexts in which a CMAC communication system maybe used.

In each of these cases, the remotes 311, 312, 313 may be communicativelylinked to any one or more of various sensors, programmable logiccontrollers (PLCs), remote terminals units (RTUs), or other elementsassociated with the respective assets. For example, remote 311 may becommunicatively linked to elements that provide data on valve positionsand flow rates associated with transport pipes 331; remote 312 may becommunicatively linked to elements that provide data on tank levels,temperatures, and pressures associated with fluid tanks 332; and remote313 may be communicatively linked to elements that provide data onmeters, alarms, and security sensors associated with processing plant333. This is an illustrative example only, and in other embodiments,remotes may be communicatively linked with any type of equipment,sensors, or other elements.

Returning to signal timing diagram 100 of FIG. 1, master signal 101represents the signal that may be associated with an access point suchas access point 201 of FIG. 2, for example. Master signal 101 may besimilarly applicable to access point 301 of FIG. 3 or another accesspoint. Remote signals 111, 112, 113, 114, and 115 represent signals thatmay be associated with remotes such as remotes 211, 212, 213, 214, and215 of FIG. 2, for example. Any of remote signals 111, 112, 113, 114,and 115 may be similarly applicable to any of remotes 311, 312, 313 ofFIG. 3 or other remotes. The particular number of signals represented insignal timing diagram 100, of depicting five remote signals, is merelyan arbitrary choice for this example. For each of the remote signals111, 112, 113, 114, and 115, a logic low represents that the remote isreceiving, while a logic high represents that the remote istransmitting. Master signal 101 and remote signal 113 perform varioustransmissions in the signal timing diagram 100 of FIG. 1, while remotesignals 111, 112, 114, and 115 remain in a logic low position,representing that they are receiving signals only, throughout the timeperiod represented in FIG. 1. For purposes of further discussion, mastersignal 101 may be identified as being associated with access point 201of FIG. 2, and remote signal 113 may be identified as being associatedwith remote 213 of FIG. 2.

Master signal 101 spends some of its time sending transmissions, oftenat regular intervals, of signals known as contention frames. Thesecontention frames include the logic high positions indicated ascontention frames 121A, 121B, and 121C within the signal timing diagram100, as well as acknowledge frame 127, which also doubles as acontention frame. Each of the contention frames 121A, 121B, 127, 121Cdefines a period of time after it, known as a contention period or acontention window, specifically at contention periods 122A, 122B, 128,122C respectively. The contention frames 121A, 121B, 127, 121C signal tothe remotes when the contention periods 122A, 122B, 128, 122C aredefined. The contention periods define the periods of time allotted tothe remotes to send a signal frame called a contention request, such ascontention request 133 as explained below, back to the access point, toseek permission to communicate further with the access point, if anindividual remote has a data frame ready to communicate back to theaccess point.

For a modem according to one illustrative embodiment, the contentionperiods 122A, 122B, 128, 122C may have a period of time of about 13milliseconds (ms), for example, and in another illustrative embodiment,the contention periods may have a period of time of about 4 ms, forexample, though any period of contention period may be used in otherembodiments, whether shorter, longer, or within the range of these twoexamples.

Master signal 101 and remote signal 113 also include some additionalfeatures that are highlighted within the exploded portion of thediagram. When the access point has data to send, it may send a dataframe 123 instead of a contention frame, for example. The access pointmay wait until after an empty contention period, when it doesn't receiveany contention requests, to send a data frame, in an illustrativeexample. The period of time after contention frame 121A and before dataframe 123 defines a contention period, but the period of time after dataframe 123 and before contention frame 121B does not define a contentionperiod, since it's not preceded by a contention frame. A contentionperiod may be defined in terms of a selected duration of time after acontention frame, regardless of what type of transmission is made afterthe contention period or how long the access point goes without makinganother transmission after a contention frame. A remote may respond toreceiving a data frame by subsequently transmitting an acknowledge frame131 acknowledging receipt of the data frame 123, for example.

Remote signal 113 from remote 213 also includes a contention request133, transmitted from remote 213 during the contention period followingcontention frame 121B. Remote 213 may be configured to have an addressthat uniquely identifies remote 213 from among all the remotes, asindicated above. Remote 213 may also be configured such that one of thecontention requests, such as contention request 133, comprises theremote's address and an amount of data in a pending data frame thatremote 213 has ready to transmit. The remote's address and theindication of the amount of data in its pending data frame may beencoded as part of the signal making up the contention request, in thisillustrative example.

The access point 201 may respond to contention request 133 bytransmitting contention grant 125, specifically addressed to remote 213.That is, the access point 201 may be configured such that contentiongrant 125 comprises an address of a designated one of the remotes, suchas remote 213, for which the contention grant is indicated, and anamount of data in a pending data frame the designated remote ispermitted to transmit, in this illustrative example. So, while allremotes in the wireless communication system 200 may receive contentiongrant 125, only remote 213 will detect that contention grant 125 isspecifically addressed to it, while all other remotes that receivecontention grant 125 will detect that it is not addressed to them, andthey know not to respond to it. Remote 213 may respond to contentiongrant 125 by subsequently transmitting data frame 135. Access point 201may receive data frame 135 and subsequently transmit acknowledge frame127. Acknowledge frame 127 informs remote 213 that access point 201successfully received data frame 135. Acknowledge frame 127 may alsodouble as a contention frame, thereby defining another contention periodafter it. All remotes in the system may receive acknowledge frame 127,and all of the remotes may detect that it also serves as a contentionframe defining a new contention period for a selected duration of timeafter it, while remote 213 additionally detects that it indicatessuccessful receipt of the data frame 135 that remote 213 hadtransmitted.

The contention frames, contention requests, contention grants, dataframes, and acknowledge frames, may all be defined in different ways indifferent embodiments. In some illustrative embodiments, each of thesetypes of frames may be defined in terms of radio transmission packetswith selected signal coding protocols, examples of which are furtherdescribed below.

The CMAC technique of the access point transmitting contention framesdefining subsequent contention periods, and the remotes transmittingcontention requests during the contention periods, is a way oforganizing an orderly protocol for the remotes to transmit data to theaccess point one at a time, in reserved slots, without trying totransmit data at the same time and creating interference or corruptionof their data transmissions. The CMAC system is event-driven, alwayswith one step after another in a well-defined set of possibilities, inan illustrative example, as opposed to other communication systems suchas IEEE 802.11, for example, which is random in that any remote unit mayrequest a channel at any random point in time. Since there is no way foreach remote to know whether any of the other remotes in the system maytry to transmit to the access point at the same time, the CMAC systemremoves the occurrence of such collisions or interfering transmissionsto transmissions of signal frames only, in the form of the contentionrequests, and away from transmissions of actual data. One illustrativeadvantage of such an event-driven control technique is a reducedbandwidth footprint relative to a carrier sense system. A CMAC systemmay provide contention periods without carrier sense and insteadentirely on an event-driven basis, defined by contention framestransmitted by an access point, in this illustrative example.

A CMAC system may include features that ensure fairness among themultiple remotes in a communication system. The technical concept of“fairness” in a CMAC system involves ensuring that each of the remoteshas a “fair” chance to transmit data to the access point. That is, thatnone of the remotes is favored over any other; and that, while to someextent the remotes compete with each other to be heard by the accesspoint and the competition among them is probabilistic, each of theremotes will get the chance to transmit its data to the access pointwithout excessive delay.

For example, if two or more remotes both transmit contention requests inthe same contention period, so that the contention requests have acollision, the access point may select randomly among all the contentionrequests received in the same contention period, and transmit acontention grant to the randomly selected remote. Therefore, in anillustrative method of operating an access point and a plurality ofremotes, the access point may be configured for selecting a selectedremote from among a first remote and a second remote if the access pointreceives contention requests from both the first remote and the secondremote during a contention period, and the access point may be furtherconfigured for transmitting a contention grant only to the selectedremote after the contention period, in this illustrative example.Similarly, if the access point receives contention requests from anynumber of remotes during a contention period, the access point may beconfigured for selecting a selected remote from among all the remotesfrom which it receives contention requests. If the access point receivesone contention request during one of the contention periods, then theaccess point may transmit a contention grant from the access point toone of the remotes having an address indicated in the one receivedcontention request, while if the access point receives more than onecontention request during one of the contention periods, then the accesspoint may select one of the remotes having an address indicated in oneof the received contention requests, and transmit a contention grantfrom the access point to the selected remote, in this illustrativeexample. As a further example, if two remotes transmit at the same timebut one is much nearer the access point and/or has an unobstructed lineof sight while the other remote has obstructions in its line of sight tothe access point, one remote may be able to deliver a much strongersignal to the access point and threaten to consistently outcompete themuch weaker signal from the other remote. However, a CMAC system mayinclude an algorithm to correct for this, and read all detectableincoming signals from all the remotes and then prioritize equally amongthem all. As another example, if two remotes transmit at the same timebut one remote is inherently favored due to signal strength, the CMACmay include an algorithm where the last granted remote must wait arandom number of contention periods before requesting again, therebyproviding ample opportunities for remotes with weaker signals tosuccessfully have their contention requests recognized and selected bythe access point.

In a CMAC system, when the access point randomly selects one of theremotes to transmit a contention grant to, the other remotes that sentcompeting contention requests during that contention period may engage a“backoff”, i.e. a number of contention periods to wait before attemptinganother contention request. That is, a remote may be configured torespond to a lack of receiving a contention grant via the receiverduring a contention period following transmitting the contentionrequest, by implementing a delay of a selected number of contentionperiods prior to making a subsequent transmission of a contentionrequest via the transmitter. This is done instead of each remote withdata ready to send transmitting a contention request during everyconsecutive contention period until it receives a contention grant,which would impose a higher burden on the processing, transmitting, andenergy consumption of the remotes as well as the bandwidth, processing,and energy consumption of the access point. If a remote continues notreceiving a contention grant in response to consecutive contentionrequests, the remote may impose an increasingly long backoff periodprior to each subsequent contention request. Therefore, a first remotemay be configured to implement a first delay before transmitting asubsequent contention request, if the first remote transmits acontention request and does not receive a contention grant after thecontention period during which it transmitted the contention request,and the first remote may be further configured to implement anadditional delay before transmitting an additional subsequent contentionrequest, if the first remote transmits a subsequent contention requestand does not receive a contention grant after the contention periodduring which it transmitted the subsequent contention request, in thisillustrative example.

One option for calculating this additional delay is to use exponentialbackoffs, in which each remote imposes an exponentially increasingbackoff period before each subsequent contention request. The firstremote may be configured to exponentially increase each additional delaybefore each additional subsequent contention request, until the firstremote receives a contention grant, in this illustrative example. Inthis example, the device is configured to respond to a lack of receivinga contention grant via the receiver during additional contention periodsfollowing re-transmitting contention requests, by exponentiallyincreasing the selected number of contention periods of the delay priorto making a subsequent transmission of a contention request via thetransmitter. However, in contexts of narrowband channels and largenumbers of remotes, exponential backoffs may lead to excessive delays.Another option is to use linear backoffs, in which each remote imposes alinearly increasing backoff period before each subsequent contentionrequest. The first remote may be configured to linearly increase eachadditional delay before each additional subsequent contention request,until the first remote receives a contention grant, in this illustrativeexample. In this example, the device is configured to respond to a lackof receiving a contention grant via the receiver during additionalcontention periods following re-transmitting contention requests, bylinearly increasing the selected number of contention periods of thedelay prior to making a subsequent transmission of a contention requestvia the transmitter. Linear backoffs tend to promote limited delays andefficient sharing of bandwidth in contexts of narrowband channels andlarge numbers of remotes. In other contexts, that involve eitherrelatively few remotes and/or greater bandwidth, exponential backoffsmay also be advantageously used in CMAC systems.

FIG. 4 depicts a graph 400 that demonstrates an illustrative comparisonbetween a CMAC communication system using linear backoffs versusexponential backoffs. In particular, graph 400 depicts the number ofslots required for sending all remote frames with the number ofsimultaneously transmitting remotes in different scenarios, inaccordance with an illustrative embodiment, in which the scenarios arebased on the minimum, the average, and the maximum number of slotsrequired to send the data frames from all the remotes in a CMACcommunication system, in systems that use either exponential backoffsversus linear backoffs.

FIGS. 5 through 10 each depict a schematic diagram of an illustrativesequence of states for an access point and/or a remote, in accordancewith various illustrative embodiments. Additional details of the CMACsystem are described as follows in conjunction with FIGS. 5 through 10.As noted above, a CMAC system may coordinate channel access through theuse of signal frames. Signal frames are special radio packets that theCMAC uses for passing signaling information for the purpose of channelaccess between the point and the remotes, in an illustrative example. Inaddition to signal frames, a CMAC system may also support data frames topass non-CMAC information between radios. Table 1 shows a summary ofsignal frames that support CMAC functionality:

TABLE 1 CMAC frames types and descriptions. Master Remote Frame TypeInitiated Initiated Description Contention X Frame alerts remotes ofupcoming Frame (CF) contention period. May contain information withregards to the type of contention period, slotted or immediate. May alsocontain a bit within the frame that may be reserved for downstreamacknowledgment purposes. Contention X Frame alerts access point thatremote Request (CR) is requesting access to the channel. A CR mayinclude the requesting radio's address, and how many bytes of data theradio wishes to transmit. Contention X Frame alerts remote that it hasbeen Grant (CG) granted access to the channel. A CG may include thegranted remote's unit address, and how many bytes the requesting remoteis allowed to transmit, for example. Data X X Frame used to pass payloaddata from Frame (DF) access point to remote or from remote to accesspoint. Frame may include among other things source and destinationaddresses, and a frame sequence number, for example. Acknowledge X XFrame used to acknowledge Frame (ACK) successful receipt of a DF, andmay contain a destination address and acknowledgment sequence number,for example.

The signal frames of a CMAC protocol may comprise contention frames(CF), contention request frames (CR), contention grant frames (CG), andacknowledge frames (ACK), in this illustrative example. These frames maybe sent frequently, passing CMAC information between access point andremotes. These frames may all be the same size and have a small memoryfootprint, which may be advantageous for low bandwidth networks. Thedata frames (DF) are outside of the CMAC protocol per se, and includethe actual data transmissions that the CMAC system is intended tosupport, in this illustrative example.

DFs are sent less frequently, and are used to send non-CMAC data betweenradios. The CMAC system is responsible for the reliable transfer of DFsto and from remote units. The CMAC system implements a priority DF queuefor quality of service. The CMAC can queue multiple DFs but must controlwhen the DFs can be sent. To accomplish this, the access point controlsthe sending of signal frames, and remotes act based on the receivedsignal frames from the access point. A remote can only send a data frameafter being given permission (through a contention grant signal frame)by the access point, to avoid collisions between data frames frommultiple remotes.

The access point controls channel access by signaling remotes when theyare allowed to contend for the channel through the use of the CF signalframe. The CF signal frame alerts remotes of an upcoming contentionperiod (CP) immediately following receipt of the frame. A contentionperiod is a window of time where any remote may contend for access tothe channel to send a DF upstream. If a remote has a DF to send upstreamto the access point, it can send a CR signal frame requesting thechannel. If the access point wishes to grant said remote the channel,the access point will respond with a CG signal frame. The remote is thenfree to send its DF upstream to the access point.

For downstream communication from access point to remote, the accesspoint simply inserts a DF before a CF and after a contention period.Since remotes cannot send during this time, the transmission isguaranteed not to collide with any remote transmission.

If the access point is not sending a downstream DF, or waiting for anupstream DF, the access point may continuously be sending CFs andlooking to service any received CRs. There exists the possibility thatthe access point may receive multiple CRs during a single contentionperiod. Because of this the access point may implement a CR queue, andtherefore can service multiple requests.

In general, to send a DF upstream from a particular remote to the accesspoint, the remote follows the proceeding set of rules:

-   -   1. Wait for a new CF to be received.    -   2. Wait for the appropriate time during CP and send a CR.    -   3. Wait for a CG or timeout.    -   4. If CG received specifically addressed to the particular        remote, send pending DF and wait for ACK (optional).

FIG. 5 shows a schematic of an example upstream CMAC DF transaction, inan illustrative example. FIG. 5 depicts states of the access point (i.e.the master, as labeled in the figure) indicated in the upper row andstates of a given remote indicated in the lower row. In the example ofFIG. 5, first, an access point (i.e. the master, as labeled in thefigure) transmits a contention frame (CF); then, a remote sends acontention request (CR) during a contention period; then, the accesspoint transmits a contention grant (CG) addressed to the designatedremote; then, the designated remote transmits a data frame (DF);finally, the access point may transmit an acknowledge frame (ACK), whichmay be incorporated together with a new contention frame.

To send a DF downstream from access point to remote, the access pointmay implement a scheduling algorithm to determine when a DF can be sent.The access point may schedule continuously per the proceeding algorithm:

-   -   1. Send CGs for queued CRs in accordance with a fairness        algorithm. As noted above, a fairness algorithm provides that        the access point ensures equal priority to all the remotes; a        fairness algorithm also provides that upstream and downstream        traffic is given an equal opportunity. For example, if the        access point has a large queue of downstream DFs, the access        point should occasionally send a CF instead of a DF to allow for        upstream traffic. This means that the priority numbers above can        and will change dynamically based on current network traffic        conditions. A CR is de-queued as soon as a CG is sent to the        remote from which that CR was received. Re-schedule after the        access point receives a remote's upstream DF (and sending        optional ACK) or timeout after not receiving any data within a        configurable parameter setting.    -   2. Send any pending downstream DF in accordance with the        fairness algorithm. Wait for ACK (optional). Re-schedule after        the DF transmission has completed.    -   3. Send a CF, wait for the contention period, queue any received        CRs, then re-schedule.

FIG. 6 shows an example of a downstream DF transaction, in which a CF istransmitted by the access point (i.e. the master, as labeled in thefigure) which defines a subsequent CP, which remains idle, and is notmet with any contention requests. Because the contention period wentidle, the access point then sends a DF after the CP and before the nextCF, in this illustrative example. In other implementations, such as ifthe access point has a data frame that is urgent to send, the accesspoint may delay a contention frame to send a data frame even if theprevious contention period was met with contention requests, forexample.

A CMAC system may employ further techniques to address how to managemultiple incoming contention requests during the same contention period.A CMAC system may support two types of contention period methods,immediate and slotted. The contention period method is dynamic andcontrolled by the access point. That is, an access point may dynamicallytransition to slotted contention periods as needed, such as when facedwith high traffic of incoming contention requests, and may engageimmediate contention periods when incoming traffic of contentionrequests is low, for example.

For both immediate and slotted contention period methods, a concept of a“slot” may be used. A slot may be defined to be the maximum amount oftime it takes to transmit a signal frame. This is dependent on thecurrent modulation bit rate of the radio. For example, for a 10-bytesignal frame and a modulation bit rate of 19200 Kbps, the time periodfor a slot may be defined in one illustrative example as:

Slot=(10*8 bits per byte)/19200 Kbps=4.2 ms  (1)

Each of these two contention period methods has a unique congestioncontrol mechanism. For immediate contention periods, congestiondetection and prevention is performed by the remotes. On the other hand,the access point performs congestion detection and prevention in slottedcontention periods. In this context, “network congestion” or simply“congestion” may be considered to refer to a significant number ofdifferent remotes transmitting contention requests during the samecontention periods, for example.

The contention period method that governs at any particular time may becontrolled by the access point and relayed to the remotes via CF signalframes. Within a CF, there may exist a reserved field “slot size” thatestablishes the active CP method. A slot size of 0 may be used to setthe current CP method to immediate contention periods, and any non-zerovalue may be used to set the current CP method to slotted contentionperiods.

In immediate contention periods, congestion control may be performed bythe remotes. For example, each remote may store a backoff parameter anda collisions parameter, both of which may be initialized to 0. Assumingthe remote has a pending DF to send, the remote may use the followingset of rules, according to one illustrative example, to determine thecurrent state of network congestion and the appropriate action to do:

-   -   1. If the backoff parameter is 0, then send a contention request        (CR), otherwise decrement the backoff parameter by one.    -   2. If a contention request (CR) is sent and a contention grant        (CG) is received, send the pending data frame (DF) and reset the        backoff parameter and the collisions parameter to 0.    -   3. If a CR is sent, and a CG is not received within a timeout        period, congestion may be assumed to be present. Increment the        collisions parameter by one. Use the new value of the collisions        parameter to determine a new random value for the backoff        parameter. The CMAC system may, as an illustrative example,        provide either or both of two different techniques for computing        the new value of the backoff parameter. The CMAC system may        involve algorithms implemented in a software program or module        that may be written in a programming language such as C, for        example, and these two techniques for computing the new value of        the backoff parameter may for example be indicated in lines of        code as follows, using a backoff parameter named “my_backoff”        and a collisions parameter named “my_collisions”:        -   Binary Exponential:        -   my_backoff=(rand( ) % (2̂(my_collisions))        -   Linear:        -   my_backoff=(rand( ) % (my_collisions))

FIG. 7 shows an example of a remote implementing a backoff, afterpreviously transmitting at least one contention request withoutreceiving a corresponding contention grant. In the diagram of FIG. 7,states of the access point (i.e. the master, as labeled in the figure)are indicated in the upper row and states of a given remote areindicated in the lower row. This remote waits for its backoff parametercounter to expire and then send its upstream CR. That is, FIG. 7 depictsthis remote implementing a random backoff in an immediate contentionperiod method. The access point transmits a contention frame defining asubsequent contention period, in which the remote decrements its backoffcounter, previously set at 3, to 2. The access point transmits anothercontention frame, and in the subsequent contention period, the remoteagain decrements its backoff counter, now from 2 to 1. The access pointthen transmits another contention frame, and in the subsequentcontention period, the remote at hand decrements its backoff counterfrom 1 to 0 and transmits a new contention request. If this contentionrequest is granted, this remote may transmit its pending data frame inthe next contention period, while if this contention request is onceagain denied a contention grant, this remote will engage a new backoffperiod. That new backoff period may be increased from the previous one,and may be increased by a linear amount, or by an exponential amount, invarious embodiments.

Unlike in the immediate contention period method, where the remotesdetect congestion, in the slotted contention period method, the accesspoint is responsible for detecting congestion. In slotted CP, thecontention period is divided into multiple slots. For example, theaccess point may tally a number of contention requests received duringthe contention periods, and if the number of contention requests astallied by the access point is above a selected threshold, then theaccess point may transmit a subsequent contention frame that defines asubsequent contention period divided into a plurality of slots. Eachslot may be defined as a period of time equal to the slot size field ofa contention frame, for example. Initially the slot size may default toa configurable minimum number of slots, which can be no less than one.

One of the remotes that has a pending data frame, in response toreceiving the contention frame that defines the subsequent contentionperiod divided into a plurality of slots, may select one of the slots inwhich to transmit a contention request. That is, upon receipt of a newCF with a non-zero slot size, a remote that has a pending DF to sendupstream may pick a random slot it designates with a slot parameterwithin the contention period, and send a contention request within thatrandomly selected slot, in this illustrative example. This may forexample be indicated in a line of code as follows, with a slot parameternamed “my_slot”:

my_slot=rand( ) % slot_size

FIG. 8 depicts an example of a slotted CP transaction, with states ofthe access point (i.e. the master, as labeled in the figure) indicatedin the upper row and states of a given remote indicated in the lowerrow. In this illustrative example, the access point transmits acontention frame that defines the subsequent contention period as aslotted contention period with current slot size of 4. The oneparticular remote indicated in this example randomly selects the fourthslot in this contention period in which to transmit its contentionrequest. While this example features a slotted contention period withfour slots of time, other slotted contention periods may be implementedwith any number of two or more slotted periods of time, in variousembodiments. The access point may therefore be configured such that thecontention frames comprise information on whether a subsequentcontention period is to be immediate or slotted into two or more slottedperiods of time, and a first remote may be configured for transmitting acontention request within either an immediate period of time or aselected slotted period of time after receiving the contention frame, tocorrespond to the information in the contention frame, in illustrativeembodiments. That is, a remote may be configured to respond to acontention frame indicating a selected number of slots in a subsequentcontention period, by selecting one of the selected number of slots inwhich to transmit the contention request. For instance, in theillustrative example depicted in FIG. 8, the selected number of slots inthe subsequent contention period is four, and the remote selects one ofthe four slots, in this case the fourth one of the four slots, in whichto transmit its contention request.

The current slot size in each CF may be determined by the access pointusing an algorithm that may detect and/or analyze congestion ofcommunication signals. The algorithm may detect congestion bydetermining how busy the current CP is. The algorithm may, for example,use an energy detection function during each slot to determine if theslot was occupied or not. The ratio of the number of occupied slots tototal number of slots may be used as a congestion metric. If this ratioexceeds a configurable threshold, then a congestion condition hasoccurred. For example, if a contention period is defined to have fourslots and the threshold is set to 50%, and either three or four slotswere detected as occupied, the access point may identify a congestioncondition and may increase the current slot size being used in thenetwork to accommodate for the congestion. This may allow more slots forremotes to contend for, allowing more remotes to be serviced. Ifsubsequent contention periods are evaluated to be uncongested, the slotsize may be decreased, and may be decreased steadily until it isreturned to immediate contention periods, i.e. contention periodsdefined with only a single slot, in this illustrative example.

Any of a variety of methods may be used to increase or decrease thecurrent slot size in response to rises and falls in network congestion.In one illustrative example, a CMAC system may use a binary exponentialincrease and decay function, for example. The function is based upon acongestion parameter kept by a CMAC access point that is initially setto 0. Before a new CF is sent, the access point may determine thecurrent slot size for the CF using the congestion parameter. Any timecongestion is detected, the congestion parameter may be incremented.Alternatively, any time congestion is not detected, the congestionparameter may be decremented down to a minimum possible value of 0. Thecurrent slot size may for example then be set per the followingillustrative lines of code, with the congestion parameter named“my_congestion”:

slot_size = 2{circumflex over ( )}(my_congestion) if ( slot_size <min_slot_size) {    slot_size = min_slot_size }

Not all radio configurations may support the energy detection functionthat may be required for slotted CP as in this illustrative example. ACMAC system may have the ability to automatically detect which CP methodit can use by correlating received frames and detected energy during theCP. If energy is detected and frames are received during the CP, theaccess point may then enable slotted contention. If frames are receivedbut no energy is detected during the CP, the access point may not allowslotted CP, in this example. Since it does not require energy sensefunctionality, immediate CP may always be supported by all radioconfigurations and therefore may be the default operating mode of theCMAC unless configured otherwise, for example.

Different contention period methods may have different advantages indifferent contexts of usage. Immediate CP has a lower possible latencyand may be particularly well suited for time-critical applications. Onthe other hand, slotted CP may be particularly advantageous duringperiods of heavy load because of the dynamic slot size and thepossibility of queuing multiple CRs during a single CP. In various othercontexts, other design factors and constraints may also extend theadvantages of either protocol in other operating contexts.

A CMAC system may also support acknowledge frames as an optionalacknowledgment facility, to help ensure reliability of thecommunications. An acknowledge frame is a signal frame that indicatesrecognition of successful receipt of a data frame. Acknowledgments maybe optional in different embodiments because they consume someadditional bandwidth, which may be at a premium in low bandwidth networkcontexts. In an illustrative embodiment, whether or not acknowledgeframes are used may be manually configurable or automatically configuredbased on factors that compare factors such as bandwidth limitationsversus network reliability and criticality of confirming receipt of dataframes.

If acknowledge frames are used, there may be a facility for the accesspoint and/or the remotes to gather confirmation of acknowledge frames inresponse to transmission of a data frame, and taking some action if anexpected acknowledge frame is not received. For example, an access pointand/or a remote may maintain a copy of a data frame after transmissionand wait at least until after an acknowledge frame specific to that dataframe is received before emptying that data frame from its own cache orother memory resource. An access point and/or a remote may also respondto failure to receive an expected knowledge frame by queueing thecorresponding data frame for re-transmission and transmitting a newcontention request to try to reserve a new time to re-transmit the dataframe, for example.

Each data frame may be encoded to contain a source address, adestination address, and an incrementing sequence number that may beused to uniquely identify a DF. Following reception of a DF, either theaccess point or a remote may send an ACK frame back to the originalsource derived from the source address of the DF. The access point andthe remotes may therefore be configured to transmit an acknowledge frameafter receiving one of the data frames. One of the acknowledge framesmay comprise source and destination addresses and an acknowledgmentsequence number, for example. A CMAC system may retain a database ofeach radio, either access point or remote, it has communicated with andrecord the last sequence number it received from each radio, in anillustrative example. When a new DF is received for a radio, eitheraccess point or remote (filtered by destination address), the databaseentry of the last recorded sequence number may be compared to thesequence number in the DF. If the sequence numbers match, the DF may beassumed to be a re-transmission and may be discarded. However, ifacknowledgments are enabled an ACK for that frame is generated. If thesequence numbers do not match, the DF is considered valid and thesequence number or the source radio may be updated in the database. Thedatabase may be implemented using any of a variety of databasemanagement systems, database query languages, and/or other tools.

Acknowledgments functionality can be split into two separate parts,upstream and downstream. FIG. 9 depicts a sequence of states for adownstream acknowledgment example. For downstream transactions fromaccess point (i.e. the master, as labeled in the figure) to a remote,acknowledgments may follow the sequence shown in FIG. 9. As depicted inFIG. 9, after the access point has transmitted a contention frame andafter the corresponding contention period, the access point may transmita data frame DF. After the DF is sent by the access point, the remotemay transmit an ACK signal frame back to the access point. The accesspoint may wait for the ACK frame to arrive before a timeout period. Ifthe ACK signal frame is not received, the access point may re-transmitthe DF at its next opportunity.

For upstream transactions, a CMAC system may implement an acknowledgmentsystem that may conserve bandwidth. This may be accomplished by takingadvantage of the sequential nature of the CMAC. In the example discussedabove, in downstream acknowledgments, the ACK frame immediately followsa DF. Upstream acknowledgments could simply follow this model as well,in one example. In another illustrative example, there is a way to takeadvantage of the access point-remote relationship and insertacknowledgments without the use of the ACK frame. According to anillustrative embodiment of the CMAC scheduling algorithm, after receiptof an upstream DF, the access point may be guaranteed to send a CF, a CGor a DF as the next downstream frame. Within each of these frames theremay be a reserved Boolean bit flag “DS_ACK”. If this bit is set, itmeans the access point is acknowledging the last received DF that wassent upstream. The last remote that sent a DF upstream can look for thisbit to verify the transaction was successful. The “DS_ACK” bit may havea one to one relationship for the last received frame. The “DS_ACK” bitcannot span multiple frames, it may be cleared immediately after sendingthe next downstream CF, CG or DF frame, in this illustrative example.

FIG. 10 depicts a state sequence for this illustrative example of anupstream acknowledgment. As shown in FIG. 10, the access point (i.e. themaster, as labeled in the figure) may transmit a contention grant to anaddressed remote, and the remote may transmit its data frame. The accesspoint may respond by transmitting a new contention frame, but one thatincludes a DS_ACK bit set to 1, indicating acknowledgment of receipt ofthe immediately preceding data frame. This intelligent acknowledgmentsystem conserves bandwidth by defining a new subsequent contentionperiod immediately following the same frame as the acknowledge frame,thereby removing the need to send a separate ACK signal frame forupstream transactions. This provides decreased latency and increasedbandwidth efficiency, both of which may typically be important factorsto consider in low bandwidth networks.

The access point and the remotes may each be controlled by an embeddedprocessing unit and/or other computing resources, for example. In oneillustrative example, each of the remotes may be controlled by anembedded processor. The CMAC system may include software programmed in Cand loaded onto the embedded processor of each of the remotes in asystem. A wide variety of other processors and computing elements may beused in other examples to control the access points and remotes.Additionally, a CMAC system or individual aspects of it may also beprogrammed in any of a wide variety of other languages, such as C, C++,C#, Objective C, Java, Scala, Python, Ruby, Haskell, Common Lisp, orClojure, for example. A CMAC system may also use any of a wide varietyof database architecture, database management system, and database querylanguage. For example, a CMAC system may use any variation of a SQLdatabase query language, such as those conforming to the ISO/IEC 9075standard.

This written description uses examples to disclose the invention,including the best mode, and also to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the invention, including making and using any devices orsystems and performing any incorporated methods. The patentable scope ofthe invention is defined by the claims, and may include other examplesthat occur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intendedto be within the scope of the claims if they have structural elementsthat do not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if theyinclude equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differencesfrom the literal language of the claims.

1. A system comprising: an access point configured for receivingsignals, and configured for transmitting signals comprising contentionframes, contention grants, and data frames; and one or more remotescomprising a first remote configured for receiving signals, andconfigured for transmitting signals comprising contention requests anddata frames, wherein the first remote is configured for transmitting oneof the contention requests within a selected period of time afterreceiving one of the contention frames from the access point, whereinthe access point is configured for transmitting one of the contentiongrants to the first remote after receiving said one of the contentionrequests from the first remote, and wherein the first remote isconfigured for transmitting one of the data frames after receiving saidone of the contention grants from the access point.
 2. The system ofclaim 1, wherein said one of the contention frames from the access pointcomprises information that defines a subsequent contention perioddivided into a plurality of time slots, and wherein said one of theremotes having a pending data frame is configured to select one of thetime slots in which to transmit a contention request in response toreceiving said one of the contention frames from the access point. 3.The system of claim 2, wherein information identifying a number of theplurality of time slots and a time duration of the plurality of timeslots is preselected by the access point and is included in said one ofthe contention frames.
 4. The system of claim 3, wherein a secondcontention frame transmitted by the access point subsequent to said oneof the contention frames comprises a larger number of slots than saidone of the contention frames, a larger slot size than said one of thecontention frames, or a combination thereof, in response to a number ofslots selected by the one or more remotes in said one of the contentionframes exceeding a preselected threshold.
 5. A system comprising: anaccess point configured for receiving signals, and configured fortransmitting signals comprising contention frames, contention grants,and data frames; and one or more remotes comprising a first remoteconfigured for receiving signals, and configured for transmittingsignals comprising contention requests and data frames, wherein thefirst remote is configured for transmitting one of the contentionrequests within a selected period of time after receiving one of thecontention frames from the access point, wherein the access point isconfigured for transmitting one of the contention grants to the firstremote after receiving said one of the contention requests from thefirst remote, wherein the first remote is configured for transmittingone of the data frames after receiving said one of the contention grantsfrom the access point, wherein the selected period of time afterreceiving one of the contention frames defines a contention period,wherein the access point is further configured for selecting a remotefrom among the one or more remotes if the access point receivescontention requests from the one or more remotes during the contentionperiod, wherein the access point is further configured for transmittinga contention grant only to the selected remote after the contentionperiod, wherein the one or more remotes are each further configured toimplement a first delay before transmitting a subsequent contentionrequest, if the one or more remotes transmit a contention request and donot receive a contention grant after the contention period during whichthe contention request was transmitted.
 6. The system of claim 5,wherein the one or more remotes are each further configured to implementan additional delay before transmitting an additional subsequentcontention request, if the one or more remotes transmit a subsequentcontention request and do not receive a contention grant after thecontention period during which the subsequent contention request wastransmitted.
 7. The system of claim 6, wherein the one or more remotesare each further configured to linearly increase each additional delaybefore each additional subsequent contention request, until the one ormore remotes receive a contention grant.
 8. The system of claim 6,wherein the one or more remotes are each further configured toexponentially increase each additional delay before each additionalsubsequent contention request, until the one or more remotes receive acontention grant.
 9. The system of claim 1, wherein the access point isfurther configured such that the contention frames comprise informationon whether a subsequent contention period is to be immediate or dividedinto the plurality of slots, and wherein the one or more remotes areeach configured for transmitting its contention request within either animmediate period of time or within a selected one of the slots afterreceiving the contention frame, to correspond to the information in thecontention frame.
 10. The system of claim 1, wherein the one or moreremotes are each further configured to have an address, and are eachfurther configured such that one of the contention requests comprises anaddress of a first remote and an amount of data in a pending data framethe first remote has ready to transmit.
 11. The system of claim 10,wherein the access point is further configured such that one of thecontention grants comprises an address of a designated one of theremotes for which the contention grant is indicated and an amount ofdata in a pending data frame the designated remote is permitted totransmit.
 12. The system of claim 10, wherein the access point and theone or more remotes are each further configured to transmit the dataframes such that one of the data frames comprises source and destinationaddresses and a frame sequence number.
 13. The system of claim 10,wherein the access point and the one or more remotes are each furtherconfigured to transmit acknowledge frames after receiving one of thedata frames, such that one of the acknowledge frames comprises sourceand destination addresses and an acknowledgment sequence number.
 14. Amethod of operating an access point and a plurality of remotes, theaccess point and the remotes being configured for receiving andtransmitting signals, the plurality of remotes comprising a first remoteand a second remote, the method comprising: transmitting a series ofcontention frames from the access point, defining contention periodsbetween the contention frames; transmitting a contention request fromthe first remote during one of the contention periods; transmitting acontention request from the second remote during one of the contentionperiods; if the access point receives one contention request during oneof the contention periods, then transmitting a contention grant from theaccess point to one of the remotes having an address indicated in theone received contention request; if the access point receives more thanone contention request during one of the contention periods, thenselecting one of the remotes having an address indicated in one of thereceived contention requests, and transmitting a contention grant fromthe access point to the selected remote; if one of the remotes receivesa contention grant, then transmitting a data frame from said one of theremotes in a contention period subsequent to the contention grant; andif said one of the remotes does not receive a contention grant in acontention period subsequent to transmitting a contention request, thencausing said one of the remotes to implement a delay prior to sending anew contention request, then transmitting a new contention request fromsaid one of the remotes after passage of the delay.
 15. A method ofoperating an access point and a plurality of remotes according to claim14, wherein the step of causing said one of the remotes to implement adelay comprises said one of the remotes to linearly increase eachadditional delay before each additional subsequent contention request.16. A method of operating an access point and a plurality of remotesaccording to claim 14, wherein the step of causing said one of theremotes to implement a delay comprises said one of the remotes toexponentially increase each additional delay before each additionalsubsequent contention request.
 17. A method of operating an access pointand a plurality of remotes according to claim 14, further comprisingassigning an address to each of the one or more remotes, and wherein theaccess point is further configured such that one of the contentiongrants comprises an address of a designated one of the remotes for whichthe contention grant is indicated.